Turning apparatus



Sept. 16, 1969 H. PRESTON TURNING APPARATUS Filed July 31.

/4Z 4L I i a 5 x INVENTOR HAQOAD kEjTO/V ATTORNEY United States Patent 3,467,289 TURNING APPARATUS Harold Preston, Irvington, N.J., assignor to Seymour Silverman, New York, N.Y. Filed July 31, 1967, Ser. No. 657,192 Int. Cl. A41h 43/00 US. Cl. 223-40 8 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE Apparatus for turning tubular tabs or the like inside out, in which the tabs are initially mounted on a pair of resilient spaced upwardly extending elements between which a turning element or mandrel is adapted to be moved downwardly, the ability of those spaced elements to bend toward one another enabling a given set of such elements to handle tabs of widely difierent sizes; the turning element may be fiat with an appropriate edge configuration and is adapted to carry the tab turned thereby to an at least partially exposed position below the support therefor, where that turning element may serve as a means for shaping the tab while it remains in position thereon.

The present invention relates to inverting apparatus for turning tubular elements such as those used in garment manufacture inside out and for facilitating the shaping of those elements after they have been thus turned.

Many elements used in the manufacture of garments must be turned inside out. Usually this is because they comprise a plurality of fabric strips which are stitched to one another, and when the thus-sewn assembly is turned inside out the raw edges of the original fabric strips are hidden from view. conventionally apparatus for accomplishing this inversion comprises a hollow tube of circular cross-section over which the element to be inverted (hereinafter termed a tab, that term being here used generically to refer to any and all elements designed to be turned inside out by the apparatus of the present invention) is telescoped, a turning element which is also circular in cross section being moved down into that tube from above, thereby engaging the closed end of the tab, forcing the tab into the tube, and turning it inside out. With devices of this character the cross sectional size of the tube must closely approximate the cross sectional size of the tab, and when tabs of different sizes are to be turned tubes of different sizes must be used. For each tube there must be a correspondingly sized mandrel. Consequently, in manufacturing operations, tubes and mandrels must be changed each time that a tab of a different size is to be turned. This is a source of considerable down time for the machine, and is therefore extremely uneconomical.

Since the mandrels are circular in cross section, while the tabs usually are to be flat, the tabs must be removed from the mandrels before they can be shaped even preliminarily, and often they must be placed later on or over appropriately shaped forms in order to ensure that a proper shape results. This involves an appreciable amount of hand operation, and consequently is a source of considerable expense.

It is the prime object of the present invention to devise a turning device which avoids the above disadvantages, and which in particular, in a given installation, is capable of handling tabs of widely different Widths and very widely ditferent lengths, and which further serves to preliminarily shape the tab in the process of turning it inside out and even facilitates pressing of the tab to shape while it still remains in position on the mandrel; another object of the present invention is to produce a device of the type described which will invert tabs even when hooks or tickets are secured thereto, something which the prior art devices have not been capable of accomplishing on a production basis.

To these ends the support for the tab comprises a pair of spaced resilient elements capable of bending toward and away from one another, those elements preferably being in the form of thin metal strips which in cross-section have a narrow rectangular configuration. The turning element or mandrel is movable into the space between those elements with adequate clearance, and preferably also has a narrow rectangular cross-sectional shape. The fact that the spaced elements are thus bendable enables them to accommodate and properly support tabs of widely varying widths and lengths (some tabs are quite long, as, for example, in the case of belts formed of a pair of fabric sheets which are sewn to one another along the length of the belt) and the rectangular cross-sectional configuration of the mandrel also facilitates that flexibility of use. Because of the described cross-sectional shape of the mandrel it can serve directly as a forming or shaping guide for the tab which it turns, since, as has been pointed out, the final shape of the tabs is usually a flat one. Thus after the mandrel has turned the tab inside out and while the tab is still on the mandrel it may be manually manipulated on the mandrel to produce an at least preliminary shaping, and it may even be pressed into final shape by any suitable pressing attachment, so that after removal from the mandrel it is substantially in finished condition. Where the tips of the tabs are to have a particular shape (e.g. pointed or arcuate) the tip of the mandrel may be correspondingly shaped, thereby to facilitate the preliminary or final shaping of the tab while it is on the mandrel as a part of the inverting step.

Where tabs already have elements attached thereto, such as hooks, labels or pin tickets, it has been found desirable to make one of the spaced elements in the form of a pair of parts spaced from one another in a direction substantially at right angles to the direction that the two elements are spaced from one another, each of those parts being resiliently bendable, and preferably also to slot a portion of the mandrel, thereby to provide spaces through which the attached hook, label or pin ticket can freely move while the tab is being turned inside out.

To the accomplishment of the above, and to such other objects as may hereinafter appear, the present invention relates to an inverting device as defined in the appended claims and as described in this specification, taken together with the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a three-quarter perspective view of one embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a fragmentary cross sectional view taken along the line 22 of FIG. 1, and showing a tab in place on the spaced elements, the turning element being shown only fragmentarily;

FIG. 3 is a cross sectional view taken along the line 3-3 of FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a cross sectional view similar to FIG. 3 but showing a larger Width tab in place;

FIG. 5 is a view similar to FIG. 2 but showing in solid lines the turning element in its fully extended operative position with the tab thereon and showing in broken lines the tab in an intermediate position as it is moved from its position shown in FIG. 2 to its position shown in solid lines in FIG. 5;

FIG. 6 is a fragmentary three-quarter perspective view of the tip of an alternative embodiment of the mandrel; and

FIG. 7 is a fragmentary view of an alternative embodiment specially designed for turning tabs to which hooks, labels or pin tickets are attached.

The turning apparatus of the present invention is adapted to be mounted on a table 2 or any other suitable support provided with a through opening 4. A pair of separate spaced elements 6 and 8 extend upwardly from the table 2 with the space therebetween in registration with the opening 4, those elements 6 and 8 being resiliently bendable and preferably having a narrow rectangular cross section. As here disclosed they each are constituted by the legs of substantially T-shaped elements formed from metal sheet material, the cross bars 10 and 12 respectively of those elements being spaced from one another by spacers 14 mounted on securing screws 16, the latter securing the elements 6 and 8 to a mounting bar 18 which is in turn secured by screws 19 to the laterally extending portion 20 of a U-shaped bracket generally designated 22 and having a vertical section 24 and an upper horizontal section 26. Screws 28 secure the assembly to the table 2 as shown. Mounted on the upper horizontal section 26 is a turning element or mandrel 30 which is in registration with and freely receivable within the space between the elements 6 and 8. The mandrel 30 is also preferably formed of metallic sheet material and also preferably has a narrow rectangular cross sectional shape. It is secured by screws 32 to a head 34 which in turn is carried by piston rod 36 of an operating means generally designated 38 and here shown as comprising an air cylinder to which air line 40 feeds. In FIG. 1 the piston 36 is shown in its inoperative or upwardly retracted position, the tip 30a of the mandrel 30 being then located above the upper edges of the elements 6 and 8.

With the apparatus in this stand-by condition a tab 42 in its original form is placed over the elements 6 and 8 with its closed end 42a upward, as shown in FIG. 2. In order to turn the tab 42 inside out, the operating means is actuated in any appropriate manner, as by closing the treadle switch 44, thereby causing the piston 36 to be projected out from the operating means 38 and thus moving the mandrel 30 down into the space between the elements 6 and 8. In thus moving the tip 30a of the mandrel 30 engages the closed end 42a of the tab 42 and moves it downwardly between the elements 6 and 8, as indicated by the arrows 46 in FIG. 5, the other end of the tab 42 moving upwardly over the outside of the elements 6 and 8, as indicated by the arrows 47 in FIG. 5. As the mandrel 30 continues to move downwardly, the tab 42 is pulled into the space between the elements 6 and 8, and this, it will be seen, has the effect of turning the tab 42 inside out. Preferably, the mandrel 30 is moved through the opening 4 in the table 2 to a position where at least a portion of the tab 42 is exposed beneath the table 2. This permits the operator to hand-conform the tab 42 to the mandrel 30, sliding the tab 42 from side to side if it is wider than the mandrel 30, thereby to at least preliminarily shape the now inverted tab 42 by using the side edges of the mandrel 30 to form the bends at the sides of the tab 42. When, as is shown in solid lines in FIG. 5, the tab 42 is entirely exposed beneath the table 2, the tab, while it is still on the mandrel 30, may be pressed into final shape by the application thereto of hot plates or any other pressing apparatus. The thin rectangular cross-sectional shape of the mandrel facilitates this shaping operation.

Because the elements 6 and 8 are resiliently bendable they are capable of operatively accommodating thereon tabs of a wide variety of widths and lengths. For example, with elements 6 and 8 having a width of /2 inch, tabs having widths from 78 inch to 1 /2 inch can be turned in a highly effective manner, and elements 6 and 8 having a width of 1 inch have proved to be effective for accommodating tabs of virtually all widths greater than 1 /2 inch. By way of example, FIGS. 2 and 3 illustrate a tab 42 of closely the same width as the elements 6 and 8, while FIG. 4 illustrates a tab 42' which is appreciably wider than the tab 42. The width of the mandrel 30 is essentially the same as the width of the elements 6 and 8.

When the mandrel 30 is in its fully operative position, as shown in FIG. 5, the inverted tab 42 may be removed by being slid axially therefrom, preferably after preliminary or final shaping as described above.

Because the mandrel 30 thus functions significantly in providing for the shaping of the finished tab 42, it may, when the tabs 42 are to have a tip of particular shape, themselves be provided with a correspondingly configured tip. Thus if the tab is to have a pointed tip the mandrel 30 may be provided with a correspondingly pointed tip such as the tip 30a of FIG. 6. Any other desired shapes, e.g. arcuate, could also be imparted to the mandrel tip 30a.

The elements 6 and 8 are capable of accommodating tabs 42 very much longer than their own length. Such elongated tabs are crushed down over the upstanding elements 6 and 8.

Frequently tabs are provided, before they are inverted, with attachments such as hooks, labels, pin tickets and the like, and these attachments impede the inversion action. It is in connection with this type of tab that the embodiment of FIG. 7 is designed to be used. There one of the upstanding elements, here shown as the element 6, is formed of two separate parts 6a and 6b laterally spaced from one another, each of those parts being independently resiliently bendable and preferably being formed of a reversely bent piece of thin strip material, such as metal wire, with the reverse bend thereof uppermost. It is preferred in connection with this embodiment to utilize a mandrel 30b having an opening or slot 300 formed therein in registration with the space between the parts 6a and 6b. The space between the parts 6a and 6b, and the slot or opening 300 when provided, provide paths for the element attached to the tab while the tab is beingturned inside out, thereby facilitating the inversion operation.

The device is extremely simple in construction and reliable in operation. It functions rapidly and safely. A given installation can be used for tabs of widely varying sizes and shapes, thus facilitating its use in small plants or any plants where different sizes and shapes of tabs must be inverted. It shapes the tabs as it turns them and holds the tabs so that the shaping may be perfected and, if desired, rendered permanent without having to remove the tabs from the mandrel and then operatively associate them with a separate shaping member. It is here shown as mounted vertically, but it can of course be mounted in any desired orientation.

While but a limited number of embodiments of the present invention have been here specifically disclosed, it will be apparent that many variations may be made therein, all within the scope of the instant invention.

I claim:

1. A turning device comprising a support, a pair of separate spaced elements thin in horizontal cross-section, readily resiliently bendable toward and away from one another, and extending up from said support, over which spaced elements a tubular closed-end member to be turned is adapted to be placed closed end up, the bending of said spaced elements adapting then to receive and hold taut members of varying sizes, a turning element mounted on said support above said spaced elements and having a cross-sectional size such as to be freely received within said space, and operating means operatively connected to said turning element for moving it down between said spaced elements, thereby to engage the enclosed end of said tubular member and move it down between said spaced elements, thereby to turn said tubular member inside out by thus moving it between said spaced elements.

2. The device of claim 1, in which said spaced elements are essentially rectangular in horizontal cross section.

3. The device of claim 2, in which one of said spaced elements comprises a pair of parts spaced from one another in a direction substantially at right angles to the direction of spacing of said elements from one another, each of said parts being resiliently bendable.

4. The device of claim 2, in which one of said spaced elements comprises a pair of parts spaced from one another in a direction substantially at right angles to the direction of spacing of said elements from one another, each of said parts being resiliently bendable and comprising a reversely bent piece of thin strip material with the reverse bend thereof uppermost.

5. The device of claim 1, in which said spaced elements and said turning element are essentially rectangular in cross section, and in which one of said spaced elements comprises a pair of parts spaced from one another in a direction substantially at right angles to the direction of spacing of said elements from one another, each of said parts being resiliently bendable.

6. The device of claim 1, in which said spaced elements and said turning element are essentially rectangular in cross section, and in which one of said spaced elements comprises a pair of parts spaced from one another in a direction substantially at right angles to the direction of spacing of said elements from one another, each of said parts being resiliently bendable and comprising a reversely bent piece of thin strip material with the reverse bend thereof uppermost.

7. The device of claim 1, in which one of said spaced elements comprises a pair of parts spaced from one another in a direction substantially at right angles to the direction of spacing of said elements from one another, each of said parts being resiliently bendable.

8. The device of claim 1, in which one of said spaced elements comprises a pair of parts spaced from one another in a direction substantially at right angles to the direction of spacing of said elements from one another, each of said parts being resiliently bendable and comprising a reversely bent piece of thin strip material with the reverse bend thereof uppermost.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,000,289 8/ 1911 Patterson 225 X 1,100,203 6/1914 Stedman 22339 X 2,510,341 6/ 1950 Keller 22340 3,125,261 3/1964 Arbter 2Z339 FOREIGN PATENTS 513,935 10/1939 Great Britain.

JORDAN FRANKLIN, Primary Examiner GEORGE V. LARKIN, Assistant Examiner 

